“Really good” and “really really really good” and “oh my this is really delicious Lisi!” were the varied comments (actually not varied – but overall great accolades) for this cake! My father visited this past weekend and I wanted to make him a cake he would love for his birthday. True love – ate it for dessert after we sang, and ate it for breakfast the next two mornings after his workout. Although a serious chocolate lover, my dad happens to love golden fudge cake. When I was young, he would eat half an Entenmann’s cake in one sitting (I’m not kidding). While he was at work, I would shave the other half slowly — taking a knife to the frosting and kind of cut horizontally – hoping no one would notice. My father would come home ready for his other
half and exclaim “who ate the top of my cake!?” (looking right at me) and I’d reply, “gosh, I don’t know!” with a smile. We always had this battle and he had to eat it fast in order to get some of his beloved chocolate icing. I was worried that this cake really didn’t taste like the classic one he loved, and thought the slight taste of caramel in the chocolate frosting would put my father off…but he said this was not only delicious, but way better than Entenmann’s. Thank goodness. This cake is incredibly moist and even now, 4 days later still delightful and lip smacking good. Only have a little bit left (my mom and dad regret not bringing the last bite back to Boston for their Celtics viewing treat). Not sure if I should share it or just eat it all! Enjoy-
The cake is very easy to make – and the icing a little bit harder – but I put this in the medium category since it all takes a bit of time to put it all together.
Oh, and this kept well on my counter – I did not refrigerate. If you do…you must bring the cake to room temp for 40 minutes before you serve it.
You will have a little extra frosting to pipe decorations if you choose, or save in fridge for next time you could use some frosting.
golden fudge cake (from Baking Unplugged by Nicole Rees):
cake –
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1 2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
2 large egg yolks, room temp
1 cup (whole) milk, room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
fudge frosting –
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/3 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 oz unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
7 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Cake – Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two round 9 inch cake pans (I also added a parchment lining, up to you).
In a small bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
With the paddle attachment (or reg beaters) beat the butter and sugar on medium high speed until light and fluffy. About 4-6 minutes. Add the eggs, and yolks, one at a time, beating well for about 20 seconds after each addition. Scrape and mix again.
Combine the milk and vanilla. Then on lowest speed or fold by hand, add the flour in 3 additions – alternating with the milk in 2 additions. Begin and end with the flour. Do not overmix. Scrape the bowl and mix to incorporate.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans (half in each) and place in the oven in the mid to lower third of the oven.
Bake until the top is golden and a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs – after about 18-23 minutes…(but check often and before – as all ovens vary – in fact a reader said it took 35 min for her cake to be done. So check, mine only took 20 but maybe it’s me!)
Let the cakes cool for 15-20 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to let cool completely.
Frosting – In a medium heavy saucepan melt 6 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt and stir until dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil – and then continue to boil for about 4-5 minutes without stirring but swirling the pan until the mixture reaches 260 degrees F.
Remove from the heat and verrrry slowly and carefully (with a long wooden spoon), add the heavy cream just a little by little (this will sputter and foam as you add it so step back) – and keep adding until you have incorporated it all.
Next, add the chocolates and the vanilla to the mixture (still off heat) and whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk in the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let cool on counter for 20 minutes or so. Then place in the fridge and continue to cool the frosting down – until it is spreadable. Mix it every 5 minutes or so until it is a spreading consistency – this should take 15-25 minutes.
Assemble cake. I place my cake on cardboard cake rounds. (You can buy these at sugarcraft.com) Or go to your local bakery and ask if you can buy a few. You can also cut a cardboard round from you boxes, and cover with foil. Or, you can simply forgo this and place the cake on a plate.
If you have a domed top to your cake, then carefully cut it off horizontally and enjoy the scraps! (I did not have). Next, place one layer down, then top with about 1 cup of the fudge frosting and spread it to cover the layer. Then carefully place the second layer on top and then place another cup of frosting on top of the cake -and continue to spread the rest of the icing around the sides. Leave as is, or pipe decorative features with the remaining icing. You can also cover sides with mini chips or jimmies if you choose following the method in the devils food cake.
